Combination lock for steering wheels



M. A. WHITTLE.

COMBINATION LOCK FOR STEERING WHEELS. APPLICATION FIILED NOV. 25, 1919.

1,412,022. I Patnted Apr. 4, 1922.

INVENTOR.

i I l STATES PATEN r orr ice Mann A. WHITTLE, or SAN ERANQISCO, catironmaassieuoit T0 Vicon WELLS, OF SAN rRAivoIscocALInoamA.

COMBINATION LOCK ron'srnnmuewiztnnns.

Specification of Letters I aten t. Patented Apr; 4 1922;

Application filed November 25, 1391's." Serial m a.-

To all whom :itmay concern Be it known that 1, MARK A.WVHrrTLE, citizen of the United States, residing at .San Francisco, in the county .ofSan Francisco,

State. of California, have-invented a new and useful Combination Lock for Steering Wheels, of .which theifollowing is a specification; suchfulliand clear terms as will enable thosev skilled in the art :to construct and :use the same; I Y x This invention relates to a combination lock for steering wheelsaor for other uses to whichxit may ibe adapted which may he operated either by "the visual method or by listening to a clicking pin as the-tumblers are rotated in which-means is provided to prevent: :rmauthorized persons from holding the lock bolt Eagain'st the-tumblers and feeling the notches in .the tumblers to discover the combinations- V Another iobjectxof the invention is to provide means whereby the operator can open the-lock without turningthe tumblers more than once or: twice, thereby enabling the lock to be openedquickly;

' Anotherlobgfectof the invention is to provide means whereby the bolt may beteXtended to the locked osition "by rotating the V tumbler "cpe'arating knob. V

. (Ether ohjects of the iriventionWill appear as the description proceeds. V Aniembodiment of the invention isis'hown in the accompanying drawings in which the same iie'ference numeral is applied to the same portion throughout, but I am aware 7 that there may be modifications thereof.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view ofthe lock in use, 7

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the'filler which carries the bolt, j

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. l, r

Fig. 4 is a plan view of'the lock, and V Fig. 5 is a View of the steel plate used for giving audible signals to open the lock.

The lock comprises a casing '1 which has the operating knob 2 on one side and it is provided with a curved seat on the other side for the steering column 3, a clamp 4 being used to secure the lock to the steering The clamp is secured to the lock and.

column by means of suitable screws 7 which havenotches intheir heads for rotating them 1n one direction only. I

The lock casingiis lcored outr'to receive a filler "8 which icarries ithe bolti9 and also to provide a space for the three tumblers :10, 11'and12, operating pin .13, and the bolt pinlM.

The operating :pin ha's'the tumbler l0-rigidly connected thereto and it is connected-to the "knob 2 :by'irneans iota .pin 15. iVeashers .5116,- =17 hold the tumblers apart to. provide "for :the operation 10f the loose.

tumblers111and12l V )T he tumblers 10 and 11 are each. :provided with two pins :asindicated Sat 1-8 to 21 inclusive'tooperate the pins22, 23 on the tumblers 1 1, :12 II'BSPBCtlVGly EthQ- object of pro riding-{two phisheingto relducethe nu-m-i ber of times .the' knob must be turned around to place the tumblers in the unlocking Position.

The :pin Mialls into lthe j-notches in the the notchand prevent further rotation of I any .of thektiunbler sw The pin, 14* when dropped into the slot of the-diskiO prevents" the rotating of the remaining tumblers because. the; disk 10. is rigidly :connected to the pin with which theliothertuinblers are rotated.

In order to frictionally hold the tumblers '1 11 and 12 in any position they are each pro?- vided with a light spring as shown at 24, 25

.and inorder to-provideior operating the? combination in the dark, there is a'hardened ring 26 let into'the-back of the knob. gThis' ring has a plurality of ridges thereon with? an extended smooth place 27 which isthe 7 starting place for'operating the combination.

The hardened ring 26 is for the purpose of audibly detecting the operation of the V y it two smaller tumblers. The lock body has a 7 hole therein to receive a pin'26' which pin is projected therefrom by means of a small spring 26 so that as the ring 26 is rotated the pin 26' will snap over the ridges" and in that way enable the person operating the lock-t0 open it in the dark.

9 is pushed up by the cam 29 bearing upon the pin 28. So long as the disks 1O, 11 and 12 are not in a position to permit the pin 14 connected to the bolt 9 to move downwardly to the bottom of the slots in the disks 11 and 12, the bolt cannot be retracted sufficiently to rotate the steering wheel. When the pin 13 is rotated if the bolt 9 is not held up the weight of the bolt 9 will cause it to drop down with its pin 14 in the slot ofthe disk 10. This will at once pre vent further rotation of any of the disks because the pin 13 will be stopped and this feature prevents experts from feeling the position of the notches in the disks 11 and 12 and thereby unauthorizedly opening the look. In order to open the lock the bolt must be held up as illustrated in Figure 1 by the operator pushing on the bottom of the bolt 9 with his finger. Thereupon the two disks 11 and 12 will be set'to the desired position they are to occupy in accordance with the combination, after which the disk 10 is set with its slot in alignment with the two slots in the disks 11 and 12; thereupon the bolt 9 may be retracted so as to be disengaged from the hub 5. The cam 29 will project the bolt 9 if rotated in one direction and will prevent the rotation of the pin 13 unless the bolt 9 is held up. I

'lVhat I claim is as follows, but-various modifications may be made in the construction shown in the drawings and above par; ticularly describedform, within the purview of my invention: a

- 1. A look for automobile steering wheels comprising a casing adapted to be secured to a steering column, a bolt/carried thereby capable of being extended into a notch in the steering wheel hub, a pin carried by said bolt, an operating knob, a notched tumbler hole in the steering wheel hub, an operating knob, a notched tumbler rigidly connected to the knob, notchedv tumblers of less diameter than the first tumbler movable with the knob and capable of having their notches align with the notch in the larger tumbler,

a pin carried byithe bolt to prevent the rotation of the tumblersexcept when the bolt is lifted and audible means to permit the operation of the look when the combination cannot be seen.

3. A lock for automobile steering wheels comprising acasing adapted to be secured toa steering column, a slidable bolt carried thereby capable of being extendedentirely through the casing, an operating knob, a

notched -tumbler rigidly connected to the I knob, other smaller notchedtumblers, means to engage the tumblers with said knob whereby all of the tumblers may have their notches aligned, a pin carried by the bolt to v prevent the operation of the tumblers except when the bolt is'raised' with the pin out of engagementwith the tumblers and a cam to extend the bolt when the knob is turned in one direction and to prevent the rotation of the tumblers vif turned in theopposite direction. v i

MARK A. wHrrTLn 

